Water pump toothbrush

ABSTRACT

A toothbrush for cleaning teeth includes a body defining an internal fluid reservoir, a plurality of bristles supported at a base portion by the body, a passage extending from the internal fluid reservoir to at least one opening adjacent the base portion of the plurality of bristles, and a manually operated pump disposed in fluid flow communication between the internal fluid reservoir and the passage for transferring fluid from the internal fluid reservoir to the at least one opening in the base portion between the bristles.

CROSS REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATION

This application claims priority to the benefit of the Sep. 22, 2009, inthe name of Diane Richardson, filing date of co-pending U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/244,478 filed Sep. 22, 2009, for a “WATERGUN TOOTHBRUSH”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

The present water pump toothbrush relates in general to toothbrushesand, more particularly, to a toothbrush having a pump for transferringfluid from the internal fluid reservoir to a position adjacent a baseportion of a plurality of bristles supported by a body of thetoothbrush.

Various configurations for toothbrushes are well known in the art. Whilethese devices appear to be suitable for the intended purpose of cleaningteeth, the known toothbrushes suffer from various deficiencies and lackdesired features. By way of example and not limitation, known toothbrushdevices fail to provide a readily available source of fluid, such asliquid water, for aiding in the cleaning and/or rinsing process.

SUMMARY

A water pump toothbrush according to one aspect of the present inventionis a manual toothbrush used along with conventional toothpaste. Duringuse, toothpaste is spread on the toothbrush bristles as is conventional.The water pump toothbrush provides the advantage of a readily availablesource of fluid, such as liquid water, for aiding in the cleaningprocess by squirting fluid, such as liquid water, on the bristles whenthe user is ready to begin brushing their teeth. The water pumptoothbrush can operate similar to a toy water gun. The fluid, such asliquid water, can squirt out when a button located on a body of thetoothbrush is pushed by the user.

A majority of people run water to wet a toothbrush in preparation tobegin brushing their teeth, because the combination of water andtoothpaste is more efficient working together to clean the teeth.

The water pump toothbrush has many advantages. By way of example and notlimitation, the water pump toothbrush eliminates the common habit ofcontinually running water from the faucet and thereby wasting a valuablenatural resource. No more hand movement required back and forth to therunning faucet to wet the toothbrush in preparation to begin or tocontinue brushing teeth. The water pump toothbrush keeps the userbrushing at a steady pace. The fluid stored inside an internal reservoirdefined by the body of the toothbrush is ready to use at the push of abutton, which makes the water pump toothbrush convenient and easy touse. The water pump toothbrush is also a convenient way to brush teethwhen a source of running water is unavailable. The water gun toothbrushsimplifies the task of brushing young children's teeth, and can makebrushing more fun for children as they grow older.

With the water pump toothbrush, a user can now brush with any desiredfluid, by way of example and not limitation, liquid water, mouth wash,plaque rinse, and other mouth cleaning liquids.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawingwherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout theseveral views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of one aspect of a water pumptoothbrush; and

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the water pumptoothbrush shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a water pump toothbrush 10 isillustrated. The toothbrush 10 for cleaning teeth includes a body 12defining an internal fluid reservoir 14. The fluid reservoir 14 maycomprise substantially all of the interior of the body 12 or only aportion of the body 12, such as the portion extending from the end ofthe neck 22 to the end of the body 12 which receives the cap 30. Aplurality of bristles 16 are supported at a base portion 18 by a head 20of the body 12. The head 20 can be supported from a neck portion 22 ofthe body 12. The neck portion 22 can be integrally with the body 12 oras a discrete neck portion 22 which is removably attachable to the body12. An outer end portion 24 of the plurality of bristles 16 contact theteeth for cleaning. A fluid flow passage 26 extends from the internalfluid reservoir 14 to a position adjacent the base portion 18 of theplurality of bristles 16. A pump 28 is located in the passage 26 fortransferring fluid from the internal fluid reservoir 14 to the baseportion 18 of the bristles 16.

The body 12 of the toothbrush 10 can be any size and shape desired.Preferably, the body 12 is of a sufficiently small size and shape to begrasped within the palm of one hand during use. It should be recognizedthat a larger body 12 can accommodate a larger fluid reservoir 14. Thefluid reservoir 14 includes a removable cap or plug 30 allowing thefluid reservoir 14 to be filled or refilled by a user. The cap or plug30 can be threaded or friction fit to one end of the body 12 to seal andprevent leakage from the reservoir 14. A one way vent valve, not shown,can be provided in the cap 30 or in the body 12 to prevent any build upof vacuum pressure within the reservoir 14 during dispensing of fluid bythe pump 28.

The bristles 16 can be provided with uniform size, length, and shape, orcan be provided with differing size, length and/or shape if desired. Thepassage 26 through the neck portion 22 includes at least one opening orport 34, preferably adjacent the base portion 18 of the bristles 16, fordispensing fluid from the reservoir 14. The port or ports 34 areinterspersed with the bottom ends of the bristles 14 on the base portion18. The port or ports 34 can have any suitable diameter, such as onelarge diameter port 34, or a plurality of smaller diameter ports 34, ora combination of difference diameter ports 34. The passage 26 can alsoinclude check valves 36, 38 located on the suction portion of thepassage 26 and on the discharge portion of the passage 26 to preventbackflow of fluid.

The pump 28 can be either manual or electric. By way of example and notlimitation, the pump 28 in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a piston 44reciprocally supported in a hollow member 46 fixed in the body 12 todefine a pumping chamber 48.

The hollow member 46 is coupled in fluid communication with the passage26. The pumping chamber 48 has a suction portion 40, which communicateswith an inlet to the member 46 and the first check valve 36, and adischarge portion 42 which communicates with an outlet in the member 46,the second check valve 38 and the passage 38. The piston 44 is biased byspring 50 toward a first position, where the pumping chamber is enlargedto a first volume in the chamber 46.

A flexible tube 49 is coupled to the inlet of the member 46 to collectwater from the bottom of the reservoir 14 during use of the toothbrush10.

During use, the “trigger” 52 is pressed by the user to urge the piston44 against the biasing of spring 50 toward a second position of reducedvolume in the chamber 48. The first check valve 36 prevents backflow offluid through the suction portion 40 of the passage 26 toward thereservoir 14. Fluid discharged by the piston 44 movement is directedthrough the discharge portion 42 second check valve 38 to the passage 26to be dispensed out of port 34 at the base portion 18 of the bristles16. Release of the trigger 52 by the user, draws fluid through the firstcheck valve 36 from the reservoir 14 into the suction portion 40 of thechamber 48 to prime the pumping chamber 48 by filling the pumpingchamber 48 with water from the reservoir 1. Backflow of fluid throughthe passage 26 and the discharge portion 42 is prevented by second checkvalve 38. It should be recognized that pump 28 can be any desiredconfiguration, such as a manually operated piston pump, a manuallyoperated diaphragm or bladder pump, or a battery operated rotary,piston, or diaphragm pump.

1. A toothbrush for cleaning teeth comprising: a body defining an internal fluid reservoir; a plurality of bristles supported at a base portion by the body and having an outer end portion for contact with teeth; a passage extending from the internal fluid reservoir to at least one port opening adjacent the base portion of the plurality of bristles; and a pump disposed in fluid flow communication between the internal fluid reservoir and the passage for transferring fluid from the internal fluid reservoir through the at least one port or the base portion of the bristles.
 2. The toothbrush of claim 1 further comprising: a reciprocal trigger carried on the body and coupled to the pump for activating the pump for fluid transfer.
 3. The toothbrush of claim 2 further comprising: a piston acted on by the trigger; the piston mounted in a chamber in the body; and a biasing means acting on the piston for biasing the piston in one direction after the piston is moved to a water dispensing position in the chamber by the trigger.
 4. The toothbrush of claim 3 further comprising: the chamber carried within the body and having an inlet and an outlet; first and second flow valves respectively coupled in fluid flow communication with the inlet and the outlet, respectively, for controlling fluid flow from the internal fluid reservoir through the inlet only in a direction into the chamber upon movement of the piston back to the nominal position, and for allowing fluid flow only through the outlet of the chamber to the passage to dispense fluid from the chamber only when the piston is moved from the nominal position to a second position by depression of the trigger. 